July 2015

07/30/2015

Legal Talk Network has just release a new Digital Edge podcast where Jim and Sharon interview Allison Shields about her latest book titled How Lawyers Can Do More in Less Time. The podcast covers many productivity improvements for lawyers. The discussion topics include:

Pressure among other lawyers to overwork

How technology has affected client expectations

Setting goals for overall firm success

The mistake of trying to multi-task

Clear steps to overcome the fear of delegation

Effective calendar use

Using technology properly

How lawyers and professionals should approach Allison’s book

Give it a listen, especially if you are involved in the legal profession.

07/29/2015

It’s one thing to have a bad security product, but it takes some real work to be the worst. Microsoft has successfully achieved that status. Microsoft’s Windows Defender scored the worst of all the 22 products tested by AV-Test. So thinking about running Microsoft’s built-in antivirus product? Perhaps you should reconsider.

AV-Test measures a product’s protection against zero-day exploits, malware, and e-mail and web threats. The usability and performance are also considered when determining the final score. Windows Defender scored 9.5 points out of a possible 18. So pick another product for your antivirus needs. Avira, Bitdefender and Kaspersky all got a score of 18 to rank as the best antivirus products.

07/28/2015

Microsoft wants to protect users from themselves. I’m sure that was the reason Microsoft coded Windows 10 to mandate installation of updates. Apparently, too many people were not installing updates and leaving themselves vulnerable. In fact, not installing updates is one of the leading reasons your computer gets compromised. However, sometimes updates are not a good thing. Recently, several Windows 10 testers complained that an NVidia driver update was screwing up their computers.

Not to worry. Microsoft has released a troubleshooter package (KB3073930) that lets you block or hide critical updates and even driver updates. The package seems to work in the latest release of Windows 10 as well. It looks like Microsoft listened to the complaints and provided a way for you to override the automatic installation of updates.

07/27/2015

I still don’t get it. Why is there so much hype over buying a smartwatch that you have to constantly charge, has a tiny screen and needs to be near your smartphone to provide the most basic functions? The watch is an extension of your smartphone function and typically communicates via a Bluetooth connection. One of the problems is that the connection and device increase your exposure to being hacked. In fact, a recent report discovered that 100% of tested smartphones are insecure. Perhaps you should rethink that purchase.

07/23/2015

The Hacking Team has been in the news almost every day. Apparently, they sold surveillance software to a bunch of governments and law enforcement entities to gather all kinds of data from the targets. They were recently compromised by another hacking group that lifted over 400GB of stolen corporate data that is leaking the financial reports, customer lists, e-mails detailing zero day exploits and a bunch of other security vulnerabilities of the Hacking Team. The paranoia is moving like a tsunami across the world. Everybody is worried that they may already be infected with one of the Hacking Team’s nasty malware products.

Not to worry. Researchers at Root Security have offered a free tool to scan for the presence of the Hacking Team software. The free tool is called Milano and can detect many of the Hacking Team tools. Root Security stated that they will update the tool as they continue to comb through the 400GB of compromised data. It’s a pretty simple tool and can do a quick or deep scan of your system. Give it a go and see if you are already infected with a piece of the Hacking Team malware.

07/22/2015

Windows 10 will be here is about a week. The operating system is similar to previous versions, but there are some subtle differences too. As an example, how would a user get to a login screen without using a keyboard to hit <ALT><CTRL><DEL>? It’s not enabled by default so an administrator has to use policies to get the <ALT><CTRL><DEL> key sequence activated. What if you have a tablet that hasn’t had the <ALT><CTRL><DEL> sequence enabled? The Windows button + Power button will get you to that login screen just like hitting <ALT><CTRL><DEL>. Of course you need a tablet with a Windows button.

07/21/2015

It is a common trend for manufacturers to not allow memory expansion for Smartphones. Apple has never allowed memory expansion via microSD cards. It would rather have you pay an obscene amount of money to get the higher capacity iPhones. The smartphone version of crack cocaine. Following Apple’s lead, Samsung dropped the microSD expansion capability on the S6. So what do you do if you purchased a phone that doesn’t quite have enough storage capacity for all of your music, pictures and apps? Not a problem.

SanDisk has a solution for you. It’s an ingenious flash memory stick that has built-in WiFi and a battery that can sustain a single stream of data for 4.5 hours. It works like a regular flash drive with a computer by plugging it into a USB port and with smartphones via an app. The SanDisk Connect Wireless Stick comes in sizes from 16GB all the way to 128GB of storage. The cost runs from $29.99 up to $99.99 for the 128GB version. It’s a clever device, but I don’t want to carry around another piece of equipment that is dependent on my phone to operate properly.

07/20/2015

Unless you work for the U.S. Navy and purchased a mega support contract with Microsoft, you should not be running the unsupported Windows XP operating system. SC Magazinehas reported that software developers are also abandoning the outdated operating system. Even though Microsoft stopped issuing security updates for XP, they continued to distribute definitions to combat malware. Last week was the end of any future malware definition updates. That means you’ll need to get a different security solution that still supports Windows XP. Those choices are getting harder to find. Oracle and Java support on XP is scheduled to end shortly too.

07/16/2015

Malwarebytes, a security software company, is entering the security software market for Macs by the acquisition of Safe Mac, creators of the software application AdwareMedic. Malwarebytes Anti-Malware for Macs is designed to detect and remove adware, malware and PUPs (potentially unwanted programs) from a Mac computer. According to a June 2015 OPSWAT report, only half of Mac users have antivirus protection installed. Ouch! The free download of Malwarebytes Anti-Malware for Mac if for home use only. Perhaps we’ll see a paid premium version licensed for business use in the future to complement its Windows offerings.

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Disclaimer

This blog is intended to impart general information and does not offer specific legal advice. Use of this blog does not create an attorney-client relationship. If you require legal advice, consult an attorney.